Information High
by Jason M. Lee
Summary: [AEC] 28 oneshots based on the '28 Character' in Live Journal. Being a flying Autobot has its advantages and disadvantages, depending on one's point of view. OC
1. Silly Wirejack

Disclaimers: _Transformers_ © HasTak, IDW. Wirejack © me.

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**Information High - 28 Wirejacks**

_Silly Wirejack_**  
**

Jason M. Lee

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"Uhm, if there's anyone on duty, please respond. This is Wirejack calli--" 

_"Wire?! Where the slag are you?! You've been MIA for over seven Terran hours!!"_ Hearing Jetfire's voice brought immense relief to the hacker.

"Chicago, sir. To be precise, on top of the Sears Tower."

Silence over the radio link for a moment, never mind the high winds still whipping around him and darkening skies. _"This outta be good."_

"Yes, there's a reasonable explanation as to why I'm stranded on top of the Sears Tower." Wirejack shifted his bulk carefully, mindful of the numerous cables and other delicate equipment surrounding him. "Just give me a second..."

_"Explanations later, kiddo. First things first, you better come back to base."_

"Uh... No can do, sir."

Confusion in the deputy commander's voice. _"Repeat that again?"_

"I can't warp back because..." Here, he hesitated.

_"Becaaauuuse...?"_ Jetfire gently coaxed, mindful of his shy subordinate.

Embarrassment as he settled himself carefully a distance from the mechanical penthouse. "My wing-sword's somewhere several blocks south of the Tower, I think along the Chicago River's east bank. I was practicing close-quarter aerial and dodging tactics around tall buildings but I forgot to account in today's weather forecast."

Several strong gusts blew by before an exasperated sigh came from the space shuttle, as well hysterical laughter in the background. _"Sit tight and try not to attract any more attention to yourself, Wire. I'm bringing Comettor with me."_

"Copy that, sir."

_"Why, of all places, the Windy City..."_ Red Alert's bemused tones drifted in before the line was cut off.

The modified F-14 couldn't help but giggle a little at the silliness of his situation and decided to enjoy the scenery of Chicago at night. It wasn't everyday he got to check out more of Earth's famous sights, what with Mini-Con searching, battling Decepticons, and making sure the computers were in working order.

Besides, he doubt his commanding officer ever encountered a tightly packed snowball straight in the face before.

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A/N: **Epona Harper** had a "use this line" challenge, to which I picked "Yes, there's a reasonable explanation as to why I'm stranded on top of the Sears Tower. Just give me a second." Second inspiration was **Nightwind**'s "Tower", using the same line and Fireflight. 

If the disclaimers wasn't clear enough, Wirejack is a TF OC of mine. NO STEALING.


	2. On His Knees Wirejack

Disclaimers: _Transformers_ © HasTak, IDW. Wirejack © me.

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**Information High - 28 Wirejacks**

_On His Knee Wirejack_**  
**

Jason M. Lee

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"Oh, for Primus' sake..." Wirejack grumbled as he recalibrated the light sensitivity in his optics while peering through an access panel. A small amount of dust and dirt skittered onto the metallic floor, free from their dark prison. "What the slag have you guys been doing? Planning on letting some turbo-rats make their home in here?" 

Sideswipe grinned sheepishly as he knelt beside the computer expert. "Forgot about atmospheric mixture differences between here and on Cybertron?"

The normally shy jet fighter muttered several choice words, easing his swept wings through the small opening. Wire was usually quiet, even around close friends, although he occasionally became a bit annoyed when something as simple as routine computer maintenance wasn't taken care of. "I swear, had Red Alert not asked me personally to check up on this, you'd be dealing with more than just potential fried circuits and data loss. I sometimes can't believe that we're both with Intelligence."

"Can I help it that Earth is so fascinating half the time?" the blue Nissan Skyline protested weakly.

Nightbeat shook his head, amusement in his headlight. "So, what's the glitch?"

Optics carefully checked for anything amiss with practiced ease before finally zooming in on the irregularity. "Loose cable for the satellite up-link. That would be why you guys were having trouble connecting online earlier." Wirejack crawled in a little further and easily made the physical connection after some stretching. He started backing out but stopped when he realized that his wings had become entangled in the process. "Aw, slag."

"Stuck?" the motorbike stated the obvious, wicked humor in his vocalizer. His larger partner looked about to explode, the sheepish grin becoming an impish one.

"Just get me the Mini-Cons that can at least hold things," the hacker huffed, glad that his colored face was in the dark.

Snickers faded into the distance, leaving the F-14 in the undignified and humiliating position of being half in and out of the _Ark_'s computer access panel while on his knees.

He vented out a sigh, knowing some 'bots and Mini-Cons were going to have a ball when they found out.

Especially Jetfire.

'Probably consider it payback for the snowball back in Chicago...'

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A/N: If the disclaimers wasn't clear enough, Wirejack is a TF OC of mine. NO STEALING. 


	3. Playing with Kids Wirejack

Disclaimers: _Transformers_ © HasTak, IDW. Wirejack © me.

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**Information High - 28 Wirejacks**

_Playing with Kids Wirejack_

Jason M. Lee

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He had expected startled communication officers in the control tower when he had tapped into the static filled radio frequencies while sightseeing the Rockies near Colorado Springs. Had been anticipating wary soldiers upon pulling into one of the hangars at Peterson Air Force Base to wait out the sudden thunderstorm, his entire frame dripping water onto the concrete floor. He had also expected to hear quick instructions from Autobase via one of the staff members who had drawn the short straw to deliver the message, not that the F-14 mind following. All he wanted was to be out of the volatile and unpleasant weather, lightning strikes and strong winds not being real healthy for fliers. 

What he hadn't been expecting was to be immediately used as a climbing set, stared at with wide eyes, and listen to chattering voices that echoed throughout the hangar and were, dear Primus, so noisy!

A loud holler and Wirejack had to hold himself still when he realized that someone had practically made it to the top of his head and was standing precariously. The computer technician quickly plucked the student before the young teen could slip and injure himself, ignoring the surprised yelp and disappointing groans. Relief reflected on the adults' faces, no doubt several of them parents or guardians of the Autobot's more inquisitive and diminutive audience.

Wire also didn't expect that today would be Job Shadow Day during his impromptu stop. How was the jet supposed to know that the base actually allowed students from one of the nearby middle schools to learn about military careers on site?

"Enjoying yourself?"

Optics blinked and looked down to Major Frasier who was standing near his knee and gazing up at him curiously.

"Somewhat. This is kinda disconcerting."

A smirk. "Expecting RPGs and other big weaponry?"

He sheepishly smiled. "The thought did cross my mind."

"We aren't always 'shoot first, ask later'. Not with the kids' safety in mind and that's usually during special circumstances."

"Then I'd hate to be in those 'special circumstances'. Sorry for startling the communication officers, though. Not to mention your COs."

She waved it off. "They'll be fine. Some of us are still trying to get used to the idea of you big folks having a base so close by." Sharp brown eyes studied Wire, causing him to fidget a little.

"Uhm... There isn't anything on my face, is there?"

Some of the teens giggled.

"What's your alternate mode?" the major asked, although it sounded more like a command than a question.

"F-14 Tomcat," Wirejack promptly replied, academy training slipping in just for a moment. "I know your navy doesn't use them anymore but I find the swing wing capabilities fairly useful."

Frasier rubbed her chin, still studying him before breaking out into another smirk. "Hey, kids!"

Most of the students paused playing, turning their attention to the major. Others had to be poked or prodded.

"Want to know how the cockpits of a modified F-14 looks like?"

Chuckles and snickers filtered through the personnel when they noticed the Autobot, most likely defying some laws of Cybertronian physiology, visibly paled at the delighted cheers from the students. They all knew it was going to be a long while before the tempest passed and what better way for the teenagers to learn about the instruments of a fighter jet the US Navy no longer employed.

Fighting to keep his wings from twitching and reluctantly transforming, Wirejack went about to setting his more dangerous systems on stand-by while the staff brought in ladders. Quietly, he listened to Frasier as she pointed out the various instruments and noting the differences, even obliging on flashing the displays or moving the controls when requested. In a way, spending his first full day-off on Earth with curious young humans and being in a hangar was a lot better than being stuck under a mountain during a thunderstorm.

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A/N: Peterson AFB is within the vicinity of Colorado Springs and houses the operations formerly operated by NORAD in Cheyenne Mountain. They recently had Job Shadow Day, showing 90 students from Carmel Middle School the various military career paths. 

Takes place in **Echowarrior**'s "Transformers Armada: Revisited" universe, after chapter 31 "Fun and Games".


	4. Book Reading Wirejack

Disclaimers: _Transformers_ © HasTak, IDW. Wirejack © me. "To Kill a Mockingbird" © Harper Lee and HarperCollins, "Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry" © Mildred D. Taylor and Scholastic.

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**Information High - 28 Wirejacks**

_Book Reading Wirejack_**  
**

Jason M. Lee

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_"Roll of thunder, hear my cry; Over the water, bye and bye..."_ Wirejack sung softly while running a deep systems scan on the _Ark_'s computers.

Alexis paused mid-step on her way to the kid's area. "'Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry'?"

Startled, the Tomcat nearly fell out of his seat before turning to look at the only female human on base with a sheepish smile. "Eh heh, yeah."

"Why that one?"

Sheepishness changed to wistful. "While not entirely the same, I find it somewhat parallels the division of factions back on Cybertron. We've been fighting for so long that I think we've almost forgotten that we're no different from each other deep down, no matter which symbol we carry."

She gave a small chuckle. "Well, if you liked it, then I recommend 'To Kill a Mockingbird' by Harper Lee for extra reading."

Optics brightened in delight. "Thanks!"

"Welcome. If you'll excuse me, I've got homework."

Alone again and the systems check not yet at the halfway mark, Wirejack subspaced out several bookfiles before finding the aforementioned title. Setting the computer-tech area of his CPU for any alerts, the Tomcat settled down with Jean Louise "Scout" Finch and her brother Jeremy "Jem" in their home of Maycomb, Alabama.

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A/N: "Mockingbird" and "Thunder" were mandatory high school reading for me. Saw the movie version of "Mockingbird" and the trial scene stuck out most prominently, as well the song in chapter 11 of "Thunder".

If the disclaimers wasn't clear enough, Wirejack is a TF OC of mine. **NO STEALING.**


	5. Transforming Wirejack

Disclaimers: _Transformers_ © HasTak, IDW. Wirejack © me.

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**Information High - 28 Wirejacks**

_Transforming Wirejack_**  
**

Jason M. Lee

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Red Alert's optic band flickered in a blinking gesture and he had to fight off a smile. The Emergency Team and Longarm, on the other hand, had no compunctions of hiding their amusement. 

"Let me guess, sword practice?"

Hot Shot rubbed the back of his helm. "Sword practice."

"Gone wrong, once again."

Runway, Jetsorm, and Sonar all had the grace to look apologetic, adding in to their guilty fidgeting.

"Eh heh..." An embarrassed smile on the yellow sports car face.

"I suppose this could be a new transformation for some of the plane based ones." The medic rubbed his chin, pretending to appear thoughtful. "Looks useful, come to think of it. We could use you in certain rescue operations..."

"RED!" Wirejack wailed, his wings swinging between swept and spread rapidly while his arms flailed with limited movement. "Being stuck halfway like this is NOT fun and REALLY uncomfortable! I don't even want to think about lawsuits I could get if someone with ties to that show or any other company sees me like this! Never mind the fact that we haven't shown ourselves to the humans yet! JUST FIX MY TRANSFORMATION COG ALREADY!"

Evil chuckling, more snickering, and pained squeaks rang throughout the Med Bay as Hot Shot and the Air Defense Team quickly made their exit.

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A/N: Can't help it. Can't say whether Matt Moylan's "Lil Formers - Jetfire" at deviantART was or wasn't any inspiration for this silly piece that is designed to further humiliate my TF OC in ridiculous situations. Oh, and cookies to those that know which "show" I'm talking about. XD 

If the disclaimers wasn't clear enough, Wirejack is a TF OC of mine. **NO STEALING.**


	6. Angsty Wirejack

Disclaimers: _Transformers_ © HasTak, IDW. Wirejack © me.

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**Information High - 28 Wirejacks**

_Angsty Wirejack_**  
**

Jason M. Lee

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_'I wonder what would your reaction be.'_

Wirejack sat on the edge of the cliff, watching as the ruby sun slowly dipped below the horizon, even though he knew it was just the Earth's rotation that created the illusion. Nevertheless, it was a spectacular illusion he and other Cybertronians could never compare to on Cybertron.

_'Would you study every engineering feat they've struggled and created over their history? Would you try to find ways to improve it?'_

Twilight followed, stars in wholly different constellations appearing but never changing their light. Blue optics that were slightly dimmer than usual stood out against the gathering darkness as he looked up into the moonlit sky. 

_'Or would you create even more messes that would send half of us to the Med Bay?'_

A wistful smile, cradling the cup of high-grade in his hands. Wire rarely touched the stuff or joined in the parties, needing all his processors intact given his alt-mode and operations with data-tracking. But on special occasionals, he would pull out the flask that he had managed to smuggled to Earth. 

_'I can imagine you watching that show with those special effects people based in San Francisco at almost every opportunity. They might not beat you when it comes to explosions but they sure know how to make it entertaining and educating within their capabilities.'_

Wings spread out, relishing the wind that tickled his flaps. Back on Cybertron, it was tricky for any flyer to enjoy tall places or leisure flying without getting shot at by your enemies or by mistaken identity. Primus knew he had "been mistaken for a Decepticon Seeker" enough times by former cadet mates. 

_'I wonder how would you view their failures and accomplishments. Maybe small and insignificant by our standards but you have to give it to them for the tenacity on constantly pushing the limits.'_

Rocks being crushed from behind heralded the Autobot deputy commander, carrying his own high-grade. A nod at his subordinate as he sat down next to the younger mech, not saying a word. Just listening to the nightlife and feeling the breeze. 

_'I also wonder why you never told me the reasons behind my design. Did you know the troubles we would both go through? Or did you see it as a challenge because you were ground-based? Because you couldn't experience the skies above and you wanted me to feel them?'_

In a silent gesture of respect, Jetfire raised his receptacle in a toast with a smiling glint in his optics. Wirejack smiled sadly and gently tapped his cup against his superior's in response. 

_'Wish you were still here...'_

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A/N: Not so much angsty than more melancholy. Still, just a bit angsty. And the mech Wirejack is thinking of is his creator, another TF OC. 

If the disclaimers wasn't clear enough, Wirejack is a TF OC of mine. **NO STEALING.**


	7. Drinking Energon Wirejack

Disclaimers: _Transformers_ © HasTak, IDW. Wirejack © me.

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**Information High - 28 Wirejacks**

_Drinking Energon Wirejack_**  
**

Jason M. Lee

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The first time Wirejack consumed high-grade energon was when his creator had dragged him to the bar near their living quarters after graduating the academy.

It was also the first time he had swore to never touch high-grade again unless on special occasions after the following mega-cycle. Blearingly, he had tried to ignore the obnoxious twinkle in his creator's optics as the cheerful-with-no-signs-of-overcharging elder mech simply handed over the hangover remedy.

Which tasted worst, despite getting the job done.

The first time Wirejack obtained high-grade worthy of those living in the Towers was just after his creator's passing. From one of his former cadet mates right on the streets in public, at that. Whether it was intended as an awkward apology for all the vorns of teasing or condolences, he never knew as said ex-cadet had embarrassedly shoved two large flasks into his arms before peeling away in alt-mode. Shyness had immediately kicked in and he too made his hasty retreat by flying up to his apartment's balcony.

It was also the first time since his graduation that he only opened the container of 4000 meta-cycle-old vintage on said special occasion.

Wirejack had to admit, in the middle of his second hangover and nursing a cup of high-octane oil, that it was worth having a somewhat low-tolerance to the Cybertronian equivalent of alcohol.

After that, he kept to sipping.

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A/N: First hangover was Christmas 2006 in Shanghai. Christmas Eve party at a hot pot restaurant and I was dumb enough to mix 1 part Chinese white liquor "baijiu" with 7 parts Sprite in an average sized juice glass. No headache but was miserable the entire day.

If the disclaimers wasn't clear enough, Wirejack is a TF OC of mine. **NO STEALING.**


	8. At the Beach Wirejack

Disclaimers: _Transformers_ © HasTak, IDW. Wirejack © me.

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**Information High - 28 Wirejacks**

_At the Beach Wirejack_**  
**

Jason M. Lee

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_'Fine mess you've gotten yourself into, once again. You know there's aircraft regulations around bridges but you had to forget them while sightseeing.'_ Wirejack mentally kicked himself. _'At least comms didn't go down...'_

A simple fly-over around the San Francisco Bay while admiring the Golden Gate Bridge and the next thing he knew he was sharply veering away from a helicopter that was heading towards Sausalito. While the chopper was able to pull away in time, the F-14 wound up banking too hard during the evasion and splashed into the Pacific along the northwest side of San Francisco. Water had gotten into the engines before he had time to close all of his vents, thus effectively killing them into silence.

To add insult to injury, his secondary thrusters had been acting up lately and flatly refused to operate, save his Cyber Key system. The only good thing was that his wings were spread out, distributing much of his weight and the fact that he was within view of Baker Beach. Apparently, Wire's splash down had caught the attention of beach goers and it looked like the lifeguards were scrambling to contact the Coast Guard from what he caught on the radio bands. Knowing it was going to take the Coast Guard some time, Wirejack tried not to think about the effects of salt that might be playing havoc with his innards and bodywork after checking Wikipedia and cross-referencing it with Cybertronian medical files.

"I can hear the medics already. At least no more sea water is getting in..."

A loud squeal yanked the computer tech from his musings and to his surprise, an animal shot out of the water and leapt over his left wing. Additional squealings heralded more of the same animals, gray and sleek bodies that resembled missiles. Soon he was surrounded by chattering clicks, high whistles, and other sounds that resembled spoken Cybertronian being mangled by a newly created sparkling.

_'What the-- Common Bottlenose Dolphins?'_

Cautiously, so as not to hurt any of them or flip himself over, Wire experimentally flicked his flaps. In response, one of them gave a high trill before jumping over his nose and splashing him with its fins after popping back up.

"Hey!"

Multiple clickings that sounded suspiciously like laughter followed and most of the rambunctious dolphins were soon either flicking their fins, flipping their tails, or leaping about their new playmate. The calmer ones simply opted for curious touching by nudging him gently with their beaks (rostrum, according to Animal Planet). Despite his vocal protests, Wire decided to just let them have their fun, although he was worried about capsizing when he was nudged a bit too hard.

Radio chatter caught Wirejack's attention and he gratefully hailed the Coast Guard boat as it slowed down towards his position. From the looks on the crew's face, he supposed that none of the humans had ever seen their fellow mammals play with a sentinel fighter, although some chuckled at the sight. A quick exchange with the officer in charge and all agreed on an ensign's idea of looping ropes under his wings and towing the Autobot towards the closed Alameda Naval Air Station. One motor life boat wasn't going to cut it so after some more waiting, they were able to jury rig tow lines onto two MLBs.

The dolphins followed the odd entourage, some riding the waves created by the bows of both vessels, others still leaping over Wirejack's wings. As they passed the Golden Gate Bridge, several of the pod members performed flips in the air as if to say goodbye before disappearing back into the Pacific.

"That... was strange," Wire murmured. "Surreal, but strange."

"I have to agree, although definitely interesting," one of the lieutenants agreed over the radio.

"Do they usually do things like that?"

A chuckle. "Defend swimmers from sharks, helping injured ones to shallower waters, and playing with divers, yes. The Navy have a program down in San Diego that trains dolphins, sea lions, and seals to perform tasks such as mine detection and underwater equipment retrieval. Marine biologists have alway said that dolphins were smart, except we don't know just how smart. Like you big folks, there is certainly more to them than meets the eye."

Absently listening to the chattering ensigns assigned to hose him down with fresh water after getting onto dry tarmac, Wirejack mulled over the lieutenant's last phrase and decided it held a nice ring to it.

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A/N: While real F-14s might be able to float as describe, in my defense I vaguely remembered in "Macross: Do You Remember Love?" one scene had Hikaru's VF-1J (I think) floating on the ocean. Besides... Wire's a TF, he can do anything, to quote Beertree. ;D 

If the disclaimers wasn't clear enough, Wirejack is a TF OC of mine. **NO STEALING.**


End file.
